.32 Cal. load

[Dr5x]

Sorry yo are having that micrometer problem. I suggest that you work with a single piece of cloth and move it about, practicing til you get the same reading every time. Hundreds are doing it.
Two people using the same micrometer on the same fabric will get different reading. And using two different micrometers will gibe different readings.
What we are looking for is a comparison between two or more of your fabrics using the pressure YOU are able to produce using the same method each time.

Dutch

 

[Rifleman1776]

You are technically right. But you are also obsessing over something unimportant. What you should be looking for is consistency. I use a micrometer that has a rachet release meaning the pressure on the cloth is the same with every measurement. I take several readings at the store. If the cloth available is .001" off of what I am used to I don't fret it. Maybe at one time I would have worried about it. But the days of believeing hitting 'Xs' was the meaning of life are behind me. You need to develop a consistent method of measuring thickness and go with that.

 

[Horserod]

My home-built .32 with a Siler flintlock, and 36" (unknown) barrel shoots best with 24 grs of 3f, .315 ball and .010 patch. Very accurate. Horserod

 

10 grains of fffg with a patched ball is supposed to get about 1200fps. That seems fast enough for target work and small stuff.

 

[dbutch]

Do U have square or round radius rifling?
To get an accurate bore dimension...
take a 36 or 40 cal. ball stand the rifle up clamped or held,tap the round ball into the muzzle with a wood mallet till it fills the bore..
You will have a short t shaped lead mold when finished.
Measure the land and grooves on the molded flattened round ball.
Takes less than 30 seconds and you have the actual bore size.
This takes the guess work out of the picture.

Just received a relined 32 cal 42" gm round radius 1 in 40 flint barrel.
first range session this week will hold dime size groups at 42 yards benched.
shot 20-30-40-50 3f goex on this target.
.018 patch.
.323 round ball home cast.
Hoppe's black powder and solvent lube.
Swiss Null B prime.
Swabbed between shots.
Very easy to load compared to square rifling.
Can't wait to run the gauntlet through it.
Goal is 50 yard head shots on squirrels.

 

[40calFlintlock]

I have quit trying to get my .32 flintlock to pattern. :surrender:

This past summer, I used the "Design of Experiment" method of powder granulation and charge, ball diameter, and patch thickness in various combinations to find the ideal combintion for the smallest benched grouping at 25yds.

For a given combination, one weekend I would get a grouping of 3 shots at .800 inch, the next weekend, I was lucky to keep them on an sheet of paper with spreads up to 6.5inches, with the same load. Other loads were the opposite results. :cursing:

My inputs: GOEX 4Fg or 3Fg powder, Hornady swaged .311 & .395 pure lead roundball, OxYoke dry-lube .010 thick patches, and .018 pillow-ticking patch with a light use of Crisco. Powder charges were: 15, 20, 25, & 30 grains. Some of the 15grain charges could not get the ball through the 1/4inch thick plywood backstop. I used a lightly damp patch followed by two dry patches between shots. All shooting was done at the same range, using the same benchrest, and between 9am to noon trying to keep conditions the same.

My only conclusion is the radius rifling is causing me grief...unless someone has a different idea. :idunno: